Blitz Kids were an English

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band originating from Nantwich and Crewe,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

History

The band was formed in 2006 by original members Joe James, Jono Yates, Nic Montgomery, Billy Evanson and Eddie Hawx. The band was initially named "Rig Up Explosive", but the name was changed to Blitz Kids in 2009. The name meaning was explained to be inspired by Joe's grandfather who was in a gang who named themselves 'Blitz Kids' during the events of World War II. The band released two EPs on

LAB Records LAB Records (pronounced lab) is an independent record label operating from Manchester, England, and founded by Mark Orr and Nathen McVittie in 2007. The company also has a creative and distribution division, LAB Exposure, as well as a New York� ...

, ''Scavengers'' and ''Decisions'', prior to their debut album ''Vagrants and Vagabonds''. Evanson and Hawx left the band because of personal issues in 2012. Matt Freer joined the band on drums in later 2012 and they released a third EP entitled ''Never Die''. The band recorded their second album in the summer of 2013 in Los Angeles with

John Feldmann John William Feldmann (born June 29, 1967) is an American musician and record producer. He serves as the lead singer/guitarist of the punk rock band Goldfinger. Early life Feldmann grew up in Saratoga, California. He started writing songs aro ...

. The album, titled '' The Good Youth'', was released on 20 January 2014. The band announced on 3 July 2015 that they have decided to part ways on good terms, however in the process of their break up the band cancelled an upcoming tour.

Tours and festivals

Significant tours Blitz Kids have embarked on include opening for D.R.U.G.S. in the UK in March 2011, opening for

Mayday Parade Mayday Parade is an American rock band formed in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2005, as the result of a merger between two local Tallahassee bands, Kid Named Chicago and Defining Moment. Their debut EP '' Tales Told by Dead Friends'' was released i ...

in the UK in May 2011, and touring with Australian pop-punk band

Tonight Alive Tonight Alive are an Australian rock band from Sydney. For the majority of the band's career, the line-up consisted of lead vocalist Jenna McDougall, guitarists Jake Hardy and Whakaio Taahi, bassist Cameron Adler, and drummer Matty Best. Formed ...

in October 2012 across the UK. To support the release of ''Never Die'' Blitz Kids went on a headline tour of the UK in December 2012 with Evarose as main support on most dates. Blitz Kids have played a number of UK festivals, including the Red Bull stage at

Sonisphere Festival The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It h ...

UK in 2010, Hevy Festival the same year, then the Introducing Stage at

Slam Dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as a dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with on ...

in 2011 as well as

Download Festival Download Festival is a rock festival created by Andy Copping, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019); Flemington ...

in the summer of 2011. They also played Radstock Festival in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in March 2013. In January 2013, Blitz Kids were named the support band for American pop punk band

We The Kings We the Kings is an American rock band formed in Bradenton, Florida, in 2005. The band's eponymous full-length debut album, released in 2007, included the platinum single " Check Yes Juliet", and went on to sell over 250,000 copies in the US. T ...

tour of the UK. Almost straight off the back of this tour they were named main support for Lower Than Atlantis's tour of Europe. This tour came just days after being announced to be playing

and

Slam Dunk Festival Slam Dunk Records or Slam Dunk Music is a British independent record label, promoter and concert organising company, founded in Leeds, England, in 2007. Some notable signees include You Me at Six and Decade. The label evolved from "Slam Dunk", ...

. In April 2013 the band parted with Hassle Records and signed with

Red Bull Records Red Bull Records is an independent record label headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It is a subsidiary of the energy drink company Red Bull GmbH and has offices in Los Angeles and London. Since its inception, Red Bull Records has been home ...

, and, along wit
Big Sixes
supported the British rock band

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

on their UK tour, before Canterbury then went on to tour Europe without Blitz Kids. Later in the year the band was a support act for rock band Mallory Knox. After that tour they were named as main support for pop punk band

All Time Low All Time Low is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Towson, Maryland, in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson ...

across Europe in February and March 2014. In August 2014 they played at Merthyr Rock, along with Reel Big Fish and Anti-Flag. In late September/early October 2014, Blitz Kids had their own headline tour, supported by

Natives There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

and . The band announced a summer 2015 UK tour stating it would be the last for a while. On 3 July, it was announced that the band had broken up and that the summer tour was cancelled, but the band performed two farewell shows in October 2015. Blitz Kids broke up on 10 October 2015.

Former members

*Joe James – vocals (2006–2015) *Jono Yates – guitar, backing vocals (2006–2015) *Nic Montgomery – bass, backing vocals (2006–2015) *Matt Freer – drums (2012–2015) *Eddie Hawx – drums (2006–2012) *Billy Evanson – guitar (2006–2012)

Discography

Studio

EP

Singles

Nominations and achievements

Blitz Kids were nominated for 'Best British Newcomers' at the

Kerrang! Awards The ''Kerrang!'' Awards was an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''Kerrang!'' and focusing primarily on rock music. The annual awards featured performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards ...

in 2011, but lost out to

Asking Alexandria Asking Alexandria are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and now based in York, York, North Yorkshire, consisting of guitarist Cameron Liddell, drummer James Cassells, vocalist Danny Worsnop, and bas ...

References

External links

Official website
(domain lapsed) {{authority control English alternative rock groups Musical groups disestablished in 2015